My Own Eyes
by WritinginCT
Summary: A dead Marine brings together two quiet, blue eyed men.  Daniel Jackson Gibbs pairing. NCIS Stargate SG1 crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Title: My Own Eyes

Author: CJ aka WritinginCT

Fandom: NCIS/Stargate Crossover

Pairing: Gibbs/Daniel Jackson

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Slash

Categories: First Time, Romance

Feedback: Love it? Hate it?

Disclaimer: I don't own the recognizable characters I'm just inspired by them. Hopefully they've had fun playing in my sandbox.

Summary: A dead Marine brings together two quiet, blue-eyed men.

Status: WIP

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The apartment building doorman helped him get upstairs with his suitcase, garment bag, laptop, and briefcase. He had pulled the seldom used key from his wallet and unlocked the door. The coppery smell of blood hit them first as the door swung open to reveal something out of a horror movie.

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"Grab your gear," Gibbs announced zipping into the bullpen.

"What's the case, Boss?" Tony asked as he holstered his weapon.

"A Marine Captain found butchered in his apartment."

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The team, with Gibbs in the lead, stepped into the apartment where the sight and smell assaulted them. There was blood everywhere, and the man propped on the couch had been tied into position had his heart cut out. And although Ducky would need to confirm it, from the blood splatter he had been alive when it had been done.

Tony was photographing and found something, "Hey, Boss, I think you're gonna wanna see this."

Gibbs walked over to where Tony was near a bookshelf full of books and framed photographs. Following Tony's pointing finger he saw a photo of two men standing next to each other. One being the victim in his dress blues, and the other a handsome, broad shouldered man in a suit. They appeared to be at some sort of military function given the number of uniforms Gibbs could see milling around in the background. It was the civilian's eyes that captivated Gibbs though. Hidden in plain sight behind his eyeglasses, they were crystalline blue and he could see a twinkle of something in them, like he had a secret only he knew. Gibbs felt a spark of attraction as he looked at the picture, he wondered who the man was, where he was. He hadn't felt that urge in a very long time. What worried him though, and what had brought Tony's attention to the photo was the fact that written in blood across the chest of the man was the word "next". Apparently the Marine Captain's killer had an agenda.

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Gibbs left his team with Ducky to finish processing the scene and he went to interview the doorman and the Captain's visitor that discovered him. He spoke with the doorman in the lobby and was told that the visitor was in the building manager's office. Gibbs made his way there and his mouth almost fell open when he saw that the visitor and the blue-eyed man from the photo were one in the same. He recovered his wits and introduced himself, "Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS."

"Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"Medical doctor?"

Daniel shook his head, "Anthropology, linguistics, and archeology."

Gibbs noticed that the man seemed to be moving a little stiffly as he had stood up from the chair, and he could see a couple of fading bruises on his chin and forehead. And he could be willing to bet that the hand Dr. Jackson had wrapped around himself was protecting some tender ribs. The man had obviously been through the wringer. How and why Gibbs wanted to know, and did it relate to the dead man upstairs?

He also noticed that Dr. Jackson seemed to be pulling into himself. Not an uncommon reaction to something like the scene upstairs. He suspected that the other man might need softer handling, he seemed to be taking this very hard.

"Dr. Jackson, can you go through your version of finding the scene for me?"

"Not much to tell really. The doorman helped me upstairs with my bags and I used my key to open the door and we found...him." he trailed off softly, his brow furrowed in grief.

"You have a key to Captain Ward's apartment?"

"Yeah, I stay with him whenever I get to D.C., he gave it to me over a year ago."

"Who knew that you were coming into D.C.?"

Daniel went to run a hand through his hair but winced as his ribs reminded him that it was a bad idea, "Not many people, I just decided last night. I called Martin, um, Captain Ward and he told me that he'd pick me up at the airport. When he didn't, I caught a cab to get here. Other than Martin the only other person I told was my boss to let him know where I would be. But other than those two, no one. It was spur of the moment thing. My team is on standby for a while and I decided to spend some time out here."

The door started to open behind Gibbs and he had his hand moving and his Sig out in a heartbeat. Daniel also noticed that he had also positioned himself between Daniel and the door. There was something Agent Gibbs wasn't telling him. Tony stuck his head in the door, "Boss, we found something."

Gibbs re-holstered his weapon and stepped into the hall with Tony. Tony handed him an evidence bag with a small electrical device in it, "His phone was bugged. McGee disabled it."

"Good catch, make that Abby's first priority. My gut's not liking this case."

"Yeah. Boss, doesn't this feel like it's personal or something? I mean, why cut the guy's heart out? It seems like a revenge thing or something."

"Could be. Any sign of the heart in the apartment?"

"No."

"Killer took it as a souvenir." He sighed, this was going to be an ugly case.

"Let me know when you're done upstairs."

"On it, Boss." Tony said as he headed back upstairs.

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Gibbs took a deep breath before going back into the office. Because if he thought he had been affected by the picture of the man, it didn't even come close to what was coursing through his body standing next to the man in person. There was certainly a physical attraction, but what was even more surprising was that he wanted to hold him close and get rid of that haunted look that was deep in Daniel's eyes. He wanted to protect him, because it was obvious to him that no one had protected Daniel in a long time.

Tamping down on all that, he opened he office door, and was both pleased and curious as to why he did it when he saw that Daniel had placed himself in a position to be behind the opening door and out of the direct line of sight of the person entering. There was definitely more to Dr. Jackson than met the eye, and Gibbs wanted to know it all.

At Gibbs' questioning little smirk at his actions Daniel couldn't help but grin back and give a little shrug. He took a moment to really look at Gibbs. He had felt a strong bolt of attraction run through him when the agent had first introduced himself. He hadn't felt that since, well since he had met Martin at the SGC two years ago. Daniel was used to people commenting on his eyes and he never really thought much about them, but now seeing the crystal blue of Gibbs eyes that he could just fall into, he wondered if his own had that affect on people. He put a quick lid on all those thoughts and feelings, he had worked too long with military personnel and knew he was just asking for trouble if he let them out. But he did let himself take a mental picture of the cocky little grin Gibbs had thrown at him.

"Dr. Jackson..." Gibbs started to say but Daniel interrupted.

"Please, call me Daniel."

Gibbs gave him a little nod and another grin, "Daniel, do you know if Captain Ward had anyone that would want to do this to him? Anything in his personal life that would open him up to a crime like this?"

"Nothing I can think of, Martin was a quiet sort of guy, but well liked. He did just break up with his girl friend a couple months ago."

"Was it a bad breakup?" Gibbs asked.

Daniel chuckled ruefully, "Yeah, it was pretty explosive. She accused him of cheating on her..." he locked his eyes with Gibbs, wanting to see his reaction, "with me."

Gibbs didn't miss a beat though, carefully keeping his reaction to himself. But the question had to be asked, "Any truth to that?"

"I've worked with the military long enough to know you're not supposed to ask me that, Agent Gibbs." Daniel replied with his own grin.

"It's Jethro. And it's off the record."

"No, Jethro, Martin had no interest in men."

Gibbs noticed how carefully Daniel worded things, especially that last answer, so he prodded, "You're sure about that? How would you know?"

Daniel licked his bottom lip, a move Gibbs would swear he did on purpose, and replied very matter of factly, "Because I kissed him a while back and he told me."

Gibbs could hear the blood pounding in his ears, and he swallowed hard trying to stamp out the mental image of Daniel kissing Captain Ward out of his head but he couldn't. And when the image morphed into Daniel kissing him and he knew he was really in trouble.

Daniel saw the way Gibbs pupils contracted and how hard he swallowed after his little confession and suddenly Daniel realized that maybe he had misread the agent. It would take further observation.

Swallowing hard again, Gibbs said, "Okay. Tell me about this girlfriend."

Daniel filled him in on what he knew about her and their spectacular breakup. But something Gibbs wasn't telling him was bugging him, "What aren't you telling me, Jethro?"

"We have evidence to indicate you are the killer's next target."

Gibbs was surprised when Daniel took that in stride, not realizing that the number of people in the galaxy that wanted Daniel dead seemed to grow every time they stepped through the Stargate.

"You think it might be his ex-girlfriend?"

"It fits. But we need to process the evidence and see what that tells us before jumping to conclusions. But right now my concern is protecting you. So we're going to head back to my office for now. I know you'll be safe there."

"Okay. I do need to call General Hammond and let him know the situation."

Gibbs raised his eyebrow at that, "General?"

"Um, yeah, I work as a consultant for the Air Force in Colorado Springs helping decipher deep space telemetry."

Gibbs had been around long enough to hear a bad cover story when he heard one but didn't press. He grabbed Daniel's bags, knowing that lifting them would cause pain to those ribs Daniel was babying, and headed for the door, "C'mon. You can call him from the car"

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tbc...feedback welcomed :)


	2. Chapter 2

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During the drive back to the office, Gibbs could see that Daniel was very quiet and deep in thought, the grief of losing his friend etched on his face. He was also a little pale around the edges, and Gibbs wondered when the last time was that Daniel had eaten. He pulled into a favorite little plaza that housed his favorite coffee shop and a deli that made great fresh sandwiches. At Daniel's questioning look when he pulled in he asked Daniel, "When was the last time you ate?"

Daniel just gave him a look and shrugged. Gibbs just chuckled and shook his head, "I didn't think so. C'mon let's get a sandwich and some coffee. It'll do you good, your body needs food to heal."

Daniel was going to question how Gibbs knew he was injured but just left it alone, but the thought that someone cared about his well being did sort of niggle at his brain a little, but he shoved the thought aside figuring that the agent was just taking care of someone in his charge, nothing more to it. "Coffee really sounds good. I'm not quite sure what it was they served on the plane but I'm pretty sure it wasn't coffee."

"Never is."

The two men got food and coffee and settled at one of the little tables in the deli to eat. They didn't talk much, but the quiet wasn't uncomfortable. It just was. They lingered over their first coffees and got a fresh one for the road. As they walked back to the car Daniel stopped and turned to Gibbs, "Thanks, I needed that. It's been a rough week."

Gibbs hand was moving before he realized it to rest on Daniel's shoulder, "I know. And Daniel? We're gonna get whoever killed Captain Ward. Trust me."

The hand on his shoulder was strong, but at the same time warm and reassuring. Deciding to test the boundary a little, Daniel reached up and squeezed the hand resting there. "I believe you." 

Gibbs didn't pull away to Daniel's delight, and he returned the squeeze gently, "Good. Now let's get going so I can see what my team has put together."

The men separated and got into the car, both wondering if the other had felt the almost electric tingling where their hands had touched. 

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Gibbs got Daniel comfortably ensconced in a conference room with his coffee and his laptop, figuring that he might as well get some work done.

Gibbs pointed to the phone in the corner, "Don't forget to call your boss. Do you need a secure line?"

Their eyes met for a moment, and Daniel realized that Gibbs had seen right through the cover story. "No, this will be fine. Thanks."

Gibbs nodded and headed out to the bullpen. Daniel took a deep breath and picked up the phone. After explaining this situation in detail to General Hammond and assuring him that he was safe and that he didn't need him to recall SG-1 and send them to Washington Daniel hung up the phone and collapsed into the chair. 

He was grateful that Jack was in Minnesota for their down time, if he had been at the mountain he would have either insisted that Daniel return to the Springs or he would have been on the next plane out here to fuss over Daniel and make a nuisance of himself. Daniel smiled at that thought, because for all his bravado, he knew deep down that Jack cared about him and that was why he worried. It was why Daniel always knew to look for Jack when he woke up in the infirmary. Jack was just Jack. 

Daniel had lost track of the number of times he had wished that he would meet someone that not only cared about him as much as Jack but that would also be someone that he could fall in love with and that would love him in return. He had had one blissful year with Sha're, and knew what that felt like. And in the years since her abduction and death he had tried to cling to the memory of that feeling. But there were nights alone in his bed that the loneliness cut his soul wide open and he ached for someone to fill the void. 

His thoughts turned to Martin. He had been instantly attracted to him. Martin was an Marine translator and a self-proclaimed code and puzzle junkie. He had been assigned to the SGC in the hopes that he could learn some of the off world languages and help Daniel with the massive backlog of translations. The two men got along well and spend time on and off base together, having similar interests and personalities. Daniel recalled the night he kissed him. They were at Daniel's loft celebrating the completion of a particularly puzzling translation that had them stymied for weeks. The two of them were in the kitchen making a salad and broiling a couple steaks as they shared a bottle of wine. Their mood had been so light hearted and comfortable that Daniel just took a chance and kissed Martin. The compassionate look in Martin's eyes when they parted had screamed volumes, and gently he confirmed to Daniel that although he was beyond flattered that he wasn't interested in men. Daniel almost panicked, seeing their friendship and working relationship crashing and burning. And it had taken Martin throwing a companionable arm around his shoulder and repeating several times that they were okay for Daniel to breath again. And they were okay. Their friendship as strong as ever. And when Martin was reassigned to Washington, he was welcomed in Martin's apartment as his home away from home. 

But now Martin was dead. His heart carved out by some lunatic. And this lunatic now wanted Daniel. He really didn't know how to feel about that. But the grief of Martin's death was fresh, and his chest hurt with the pain of it. He found himself staring out window of the conference room at the setting sun with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, trying not to let the tears start that were threatening to fall. There would be time for that later. When he was alone, in the dark, where he kept all his ghosts.

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Gibbs had stepped quietly into the conference room and saw Daniel at the window, he read Daniel's body language like a book, the slumped shoulders and chin on his chest telling him that the other man was hurting, grieving. He fought back the urge to envelope Daniel in a bear hug. 

He cleared his throat gently to alert Daniel to his presence, "Hey."

Daniel swallowed hard before turning halfway around, to be sure his emotions were in check. "Hi."

Gibbs crossed the room to stand side by side with Daniel as they looked out. "Abby's running all the evidence, it's gonna take till morning to process all the test results. We've got a few leads too but we can't do anything about them until morning either. What do you say we pack up and get out of here, we'll grab some Chinese on the way and I'll take you someplace safe to spend the night?"

Daniel nodded and closed up his laptop and and slung the bag over his shoulder, Gibbs saw the wince as the weight of the bag pulled on Daniel's ribs and before Daniel could pick them up he grabbed the rest of Daniel's bags,

They made their way through through the bullpen towards the elevator, passing Tony's desk, Tony looked up and asked, "Taking him to a safe house, Boss?"

Without breaking stride Gibbs threw Tony a smirk and replied, "Safest house in town, DiNozzo." And without another word he and Daniel got in the elevator.

After the elevator closed McGee piped up from his desk, "Safest house in town?"

Tony replied flatly, "His." 

Tony was a little concerned about Gibbs' behavior towards Dr. Jackson. Gibbs had tried to hide it, but Tony had seen his initial reaction to the photo of Dr. Jackson. And he had been growling at them all afternoon, more so than usual. And now Gibbs was carrying the man's suitcase and taking him to his house for the night. Honestly Tony didn't care either way whether or not Gibbs was attracted to Dr. Jackson, he did care about the case. Tony did think it was odd though, considering Gibbs had been married four times. He would never have thought Gibbs would be interested in another man, unless of course it somehow figured into his three divorces. He was grateful at times for the "don't ask, don't tell" mentality of the office. 

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"A safe house?" Daniel asked looking over the top of his glasses at Gibbs in the elevator on the way down.

Gibbs smirked and chuckled, "Well it's my house, and it's safe. So I guess we can call it a safe house."

The little errant schoolboy expression on Gibbs' face made Daniel laugh in spite of everything. 

Their mood was lighter when they left the elevator than when they had entered it and Gibbs was glad. 

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tbc...feedback welcomed :)


	3. Chapter 3

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They picked up the takeout and in short order were pulling in front of Gibbs' house. Daniel paused as he looked out at the view of the Capitol building down the street. "Nice view."

Gibbs looked to the distant white building, a symbol of what he worked so hard to protect and serve, "I've lived here over twenty years and I never get tired of it."

There was a note of reverence in Gibbs voice that made Daniel take note, it was as if he had been given a little glimpse into what made up the man standing next to him. His country, and his sense of duty to it were a part of who he was, so integral that they could never be separated out. Protect and serve wasn't just what he did, it was who he was.

Daniel took in the neat little house and its white picket fence and found himself very curious about what he was going to find inside.

Gibbs unlocked and opened the front door, flipping on the hall light, "After you." he said gesturing.

Daniel went inside and Gibbs closed and locked the door behind them. Daniel had no way of knowing the significance of that particular gesture. Gibbs _never_ locked the door when he was home. But then again, he didn't often have house guests that were targeted by psychotic killers either.

They stepped into the living room and Daniel looked around, expecting to see twenty years worth of memories on display in the house. He was wrong. The house was decorated in soft neutral colors, and sparsely adorned. Aside from the neutral colors it was completely opposite Daniel's home which was chock full of books, artifacts, and souvenirs from his travels. A lone, skinny bookshelf in the corner was meticulously arranged with books and a few photos in frames. Daniel was curious but held it in check.

They dropped Daniel's bags in the living room and Gibbs gestured for Daniel to make himself comfortable. He sank into the couch with a sigh, he really did feel beat up, inside and out.

Gibbs grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge and the two men cracked open the chopsticks and ate out the cartons as they sat on opposite ends of the couch.

As they ate without conversation Gibbs observed the other man and could see that although Daniel was sitting next to him, his mind was a million miles away.

Daniel finally felt Gibbs' eyes on him and suddenly the quiet was too much and he babbled, "Sorry I'm such lousy company."

Gibbs expression softened and he said, "I wouldn't say that, you've had a terrible shock today on top of what you said was a rough week. I'd be more surprised if you were talking a mile a minute."

Daniel had put his empty food carton on the table and scrubbed his face with his hands, he didn't know how to take Gibbs. He just couldn't get a bead on him. But there was a part of him that wanted Gibbs to wrap his arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He tamped that thought down quickly though, not really wanting to examine it too much right now, he had enough on his plate without it.

Before Daniel could formulate an intelligent reply, Gibbs' phone rang and he stepped into the other room to take the call. His natural curiosity getting the better of him, Daniel stood and went over to the bookshelf. The books ranged from boating and military history to woodworking and spy novels.

He wondered if Gibbs was a woodworker, he could smell the strong scent of wood shavings in the house and would be willing to bet that he had a workshop somewhere close by.

He spied a photo of an obviously much younger Gibbs with an older man that judging by the strong resemblance must be his father or uncle. The two were on a sailboat, tan and relaxed and smiling for whoever was taking the picture.

There were other pictures, more recent, a couple had members of his team at what looked like after work activities, a softball game, a holiday party, again they all showed a happy, relaxed Gibbs.

There was a picture that wasn't displayed. Its easel back was folded down and the frame tucked on top of the books. Without hesitating Daniel pulled it down, wondering what it would be. It was Gibbs in a suit standing next to a beautiful red-head in a flowered dress. The two of them beaming down at little girl in a yellow dress holding an Easter basket of eggs. The little girl had the woman's looks but Gibbs' smile. He noticed the wedding rings in the picture and realized that they must be Gibbs wife and daughter. Gibbs wasn't currently wearing a ring, and Daniel wondered if they were divorced.

He felt rather than heard Gibbs behind him and chided himself on not paying more attention, it was a good way to get himself killed.

Gibbs stepped beside him almost shoulder to shoulder and looked at the picture in Daniel's hand. Gibbs' little sigh looking at the photo made Daniel panic that he had gone too far, that he had invaded Gibbs privacy.

Before he could stammer out some sort of apology Gibbs said quietly, his voice full of emotion, "That was my wife, Shannon, and our daughter, Kelly. She was six there."

There was a pain in Gibbs voice that Daniel knew personally, knew intimately. There hadn't been a divorce, something had taken them away from Gibbs permanently, without warning, without mercy.

Daniel ran a gentle finger over the picture, and held in a wince his sore ribs caused as he raised the hand to place it on Gibbs shoulder to try and convey with a squeeze that he understood, "They were beautiful, Gibbs."

Gibbs cocked his head towards Daniel, expecting to see pity in his eyes, but instead saw understanding and an old pain that matched Gibbs' own. He wondered who it was that Daniel had lost.

"Yeah, they were. But that was a long time ago." He took the photo from Daniel's hand and tucked it back on the shelf out of sight. "C'mon I'll show the guest room."

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A hot shower and one of Janet's good painkillers eased some of the tension in Daniel's body and he fell into an exhausted sleep. He couldn't explain it exactly but he felt safe here in Gibbs' house, safe and protected. It was the same feeling he had when he stayed at Jack's house.

About two in the morning the nightmare started. Visions of Apophis and Sha're and staff blasts blended with images of Martin body coming to life pleading for help. Stuck on replay the images just kept coming, getting more and more vivid. He wanted to claw at them, to get away, but they wouldn't let him and he was suffocating under the weight of them. Then he heard his name. His name being said in a calm, deep voice. He focused on that and soon the visions were fading and his eyes were opening to see Gibbs standing near the bed, his eyes full of concern.

"Daniel?"

Daniel took a deep breath, trying to calm his breathing, "Nightmare."

Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed gently, "Obviously. You all right?"

Daniel sat up, cringing the whole way, "I don't know yet. It was a good one."

The sheet had slipped off of Daniel as he sat up and Gibbs could see for the first time what was making Daniel move like an old man. His entire torso was covered in deep purple bruises. And there were some odd burn-like marks along one side. He had been worked over, and worked over by experts from the look of it. Gibbs hand was moving towards Daniel's chest of its own volition and he feathered a touch over the deepest bruises. "Who did this to you? Should you be out of the hospital?"

Daniel saw a mix of emotions on Gibbs face, most notably concern for him and anger at whoever had hurt him. "I can't tell you that. But I'm okay, I've had worse."

The raised eyebrow told Daniel that Gibbs didn't really believe him but knew not to press. He knew all about doing things for his country that he couldn't talk about. "Shouldn't those ribs be wrapped?"

Daniel grinned a little sheepishly, "Yeah, I just couldn't manage it after my shower."

Gibbs sighed, it was like dealing with DiNozzo, they had no concept of how to take care of themselves. 

In short order they had Daniel's ribs wrapped and Gibbs found himself wanting to ask Daniel something, a question about something Daniel had cried out during his nightmare. Again sitting on the edge of the bed while Daniel tried to find a comfortable sitting position he asked quietly, "Daniel, who is Sha're?" Daniel had said the name several times as he fought the nightmare.

Daniel took a deep breath, "She was my wife. She was killed several years ago."

"I'm sorry." Gibbs added quietly, it explained the heartbreaking "Don't go, I love you." Daniel had cried out in his sleep. He had loved her very much it would seem.

"It was a long time ago." Daniel said, mimicking Gibbs' own words. But the stress of the day and the vividness of the nightmare had brought all his carefully hidden emotions to the surface and he tried to hold back the tears that filled his eyes. He looked at Gibbs and saw his his own eyes looking back at him and he just couldn't hold it in any longer. The moment the first sob hit him he found himself in a strong embrace gently rocking him and taking all his pain.

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tbc... 


	4. Chapter 4

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Daniel woke to the smell of coffee wafting through the house. It took another moment for him to realize that he wasn't alone in the bed, and that he had Gibbs spooned around him protectively with his hand resting on Daniel's hip, carefully away from his bruises.

Daniel's brain wanted to crawl back to the depths of sleep to avoid having to process what had happened in the middle of the night. He was embarrassed but apparently, hiding from Gibbs wasn't exactly an option this morning.

He felt the hand on his hip gently stroke, and Gibbs low voice teased from behind him, "I'm glad I set that coffee pot on the timer last night."

Daniel was glad that Gibbs didn't move, he was enjoying the feeling of having a warm, living person next to him, it had been so long he had almost forgotten what it was like; and he was also glad because he wasn't ready to look Gibbs in the eye.

The hand that had been on his hip made its way up to rub Daniel's unbruised bicep and Gibbs asked with concern, "You okay?"

Daniel didn't know if Gibbs meant physically or emotionally, he wondered if Gibbs knew. And he didn't know how to answer. The pain and anguish he had let loose after his nightmare was something he had never shared with anyone before, never felt anyone was strong enough to bear it. Even Jack had only ever seen pieces of it, never the whole. He had given the whole of it to Gibbs. And Gibbs didn't break from the weight of it, and didn't run away from it, from Daniel. And he had stayed, lying next to Daniel giving him something solid to hold on to through the night, not letting the ghosts in the dark pull him back into the abyss. And Daniel had let him.

Daniel knew that Gibbs wouldn't accept anything less than honestly, and replied, "At the moment I don't know. But I will be. I always am."

He felt Gibbs hand still on his arm and he almost panicked, thinking he had said the wrong thing and that Gibbs was going to leave.

Gibbs was floored at Daniel's admission and it had stopped him dead in his tracks. There was so much pain bottled up in Daniel, it had come off of him in waves as Gibbs held him while he cried it out. He also seemed starved for human contact. And it all made Gibbs furious at the people closest to Daniel, didn't any of them see this? Didn't any of them see that Daniel was about to implode if some of the weight wasn't lifted? He had thought long and hard about it all as he held a sleeping Daniel. Now listening to Daniel's halfhearted reply he wondered if Daniel every really let any of them know how much he was hurting, how lonely he truly was. But then again when Gibbs thought about it, he didn't let anyone in either, suffering in silence preferred. He was brought back out of his thoughts by a quiet plea from Daniel.

"Please don't go."

The plaintive tone cut deeply into Gibbs and brought out all those protective feelings again, even if the person he needed to protect Daniel from was Daniel. He pressed himself closer to Daniel's back and very carefully snaked his arm under Daniel's to rest his hand over Daniel's heart. "I'm not going anywhere." he said softly as he rested his cheek near Daniel's ear.

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The two men lay there until they absolutely had to getup to get into the office reasonably on time. They went about their own morning shower routines in silence, both cautiously avoiding saying anything heavy. Somehow they both knew that neither wanted heavy conversation in the light of day, it was something to be reserved for when the shadows of the night would hide them.

Gibbs again helped Daniel wrap his ribs and the tension between them was broken when he accidentally found a ticklish spot on Daniel. At Daniel's snort of laughter he teased with playful smirk, "I'll have to remember that spot."

The look on Gibbs face made Daniel laugh, and then he groaned, "Oh, don't make me laugh, please."

And it was as if a switch had been thrown and their easy camaraderie from the day before returned.

Leaving for NCIS, Daniel brought his laptop with him but left his clothing and everything else at Gibbs. He knew that he would be returning there regardless of whether or not the threat against him was eliminated. There was a strong sense of unfinished business between him and Gibbs.

---------------

Tony watched Gibbs and Dr. Jackson exit the elevator, identical coffee dual cups in hand. He stood to greet the two men.

"Morning, Boss. Dr. Jackson."

"What have we got, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said without preamble.

"Director wanted to see you as soon as you got in. Abby says she'll have the rest of the DNA results within the hour, and she and McGee are working on the bug now. I've been running through Captain Ward's phone and financial records, I got the phone records about five minutes ago and I'm just starting to process them."

"Good. Can you escort Dr. Jackson to a conference room while I go see what the Director wants?"

"Sure thing, Boss. Dr. Jackson, if you'll follow me."

"Please call me Daniel, Agent DiNozzo." Daniel said as they walked down the corridor.

"Only if you call me Tony." Tony said with a grin. His face took on a compassionate expression and he asked gently, "How you holding up?"

"Well, I'm past wishing this was all a nightmare and onto wishing it were just all over with already." Daniel replied grimly. 

They chatted briefly, and Tony could now see why Gibbs was attracted to Daniel. He was just an interesting, likeable person. It really was a shame that they all had to meet under such horrible circumstances.

He got Daniel situated in the conference room, leaving a probie at the door as an escort in case Daniel needed anything, then headed back to start sorting through Captain Ward's phone records, hoping for a lead.

---------------

Gibbs strode into the Director's office, barely acknowledging Cynthia on his way through.

"Good morning, Jethro."

"Director. You wanted to see me?" he asked as he stood in front of her desk.

"What is the status of the Ward case?"

"Nothing solid yet. DNA should be in within the hour and we're just starting on his paper trail. Why?"

"I've just spent the past two hours assuring the President, the SecNav, the Secretary of the Air Force, and one really grumpy Air Force Colonel in Minnesota that we are in fact progressing right along in our investigation and that one Dr. Daniel Jackson is safe and sound."

"Why so much heat on a Marine Captain's death?"

"Not Captain Ward. Dr. Jackson was their primary concern."

"Daniel? Why?"

Jen quirked an eye at his "Daniel", and the obvious concern on his face. She had long suspected that he had had occasional trysts with men but had kept it to herself. But now she wondered exactly how involved with Dr. Jackson Gibbs was, or wanted to be.

"I don't know. He's listed as a consultant on a deep space telemetry project out of Cheyenne Mountain. But it smells like a cover story to me. What ever he's doing for the Air Force is big. So big they won't read me in on it. Protecting Dr. Jackson just became our number one priority, Gibbs. Resources are not an issue. Am I clear?"

"No one is going to hurt Daniel, Director. No one. And we're going to find out who killed Captain Ward. You can bet on that." Gibbs threw out as he left the office.

Jen let out a sigh, she had the answer to her Gibbs/Dr. Jackson question in the form of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs turning into a protective grizzly bear in the space of two heartbeats. She had seen a candid picture of Dr. Jackson and she wondered if Gibbs realized that Daniel carried the same warinesss in his eyes that Gibbs did. Both men had eyes that had seen too much, and she hoped for Jethro's sake that nothing happened to Dr. Jackson.

---------------  
tbc... 


	5. Chapter 5

---------------

There was little knock on the conference room before it gently opened. Daniel looked up from him laptop to see a beautiful pale woman in pigtails standing in the doorway, a little unsure of herself. "Hello?"

At his greeting she beamed a brilliant smile at hims and stepped into the room with a small case. Her goth attire was making him wonder who exactly she was.

"Dr. Jackson?" she asked.

"Yeah. And you are?"

"I'm Abby. Abby Scuito. Gibbs told me you were up here."

Gibbs had mentioned her to Daniel yesterday, so he relaxed. "Sorry about that, I'm just a little on edge."

Her expression turned to one full of compassion, "Yeah. I'm sorry about your friend."

He returned a wane little smile, "Thank you. Is there something you needed, Abby?"

Snapping back into business mode, Abby started talking at her normal light-speed, "I've finished processing all the DNA and fingerprint evidence from the scene but the military is stone walling me on providing your's for elimination purposes so Gibbs and I were hoping you'd be willing to provide them so we can sort out what we have."

Daniel sighed, sometimes he felt that the military kept secrets just to keep secrets. "Whatever you need, Abby, if it will help you catch whoever killed Captain Ward."

"I was hoping you'd say that." She nodded as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves and dug a mouth swab out of her kit. 

In short order Abby had her DNA sample and fingerprints. Daniel found Abby to be a very interesting person and brilliant, and he really looked forward to talking with her again sometime.

A short time later Gibbs strode into the room bearing a grin and a couple of coffees. The smile was so genuine, so real that Daniel couldn't help but smile back. He suspected that Gibbs didn't smile like that often.

Gibbs pulled out a chair and sat down wearily. He asked, "Did Abby come and see you?"

Daniel nodded, "Yeah. Took a swab and my fingerprints."

"Thanks. The Air Force is being a little... uncooperative about giving us yours for elimination purposes."

"Sometimes I think they keep secrets just because they can." Daniel quipped.

"Oh, yeah. So my Director spent a couple hours on the phone this morning assuring folks from the President on down to a Colonel O'Neill that you were safe and sound. I didn't know that someone working in deep space telemetry would warrant that much concern. But I guess I was wrong."

Daniel took off his glasses and scrubbed his face with his hands, then met Gibbs eyes, "I'm sorry. I would tell you if I could. But everything is classified."

Gibbs just gave him a little knowing smirk, "I understand. There are things I've done that will never see the light of day either. But I do need to know if you think that Captain Ward's death is related to whatever it is you do under Cheyenne Mountain. I can't protect you if I don't know what I'm up against."

Daniel thought long and hard before replying, Martin's murder wasn't really the NID's style. If he had been found shot or even just missing, he might put it on them, but this crime was too personal. The shock and gore were meant for Daniel. And they were meant to burn an image in his mind that he would never be able to erase. "Jethro, I seriously don't think it does. It feels, I don't know, personal, I guess. Against me, and against Martin. Just to warn you, if Jack... Colonel O'Neill knows about all this you can probably expect him here as soon as he can get to a plane and probably the rest of my team as well. They tend to be a little overprotective."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at that. He wondered where exactly his overprotective team had been when Daniel was getting worked over so thoroughly. "I'm sent a team over to the ex-girlfriend's apartment. We'll see if that gets us anywhere."

Daniel nodded in response and they sipped their coffee, both men lost in their thoughts. Gibbs finally asked, "Is your team coming here going to be a problem?"

Daniel's eyes flashed to Gibbs' and he asked quickly, "Why would you ask that?"

"Well, you are the one that took off for Washington without telling any of them where you were going. It seems a little coincidental that you would take off like that after getting a beating like you did. Now I've been on missions where things go all to hell and sometimes teammates let you down and when you get home you need a little distance from them. So I'll ask again, is your team coming here going to be a problem?" There was a distinctly protective and slightly possessive tone to his last question that let Daniel know that if he did have a problem with them coming here that Gibbs wouldn't let them near him, teammates or not.

Daniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath, their last mission had left all of them battered and shaken. Captured by a Goa'uld in sheep's clothing, all four of them had been repeated tortured. He visibly shivered as his mind's eye saw the pain stick descend again and again on his friends, their screams echoing through his head. He let his breath out slowly and opened his eyes, "Jethro, we're all in the same shape and we just needed some down time to, ah... recuperate. I just... I just wanted to get out of Colorado and away from the mountain. And spend some time with a friend, someone who I didn't have to lie to because Martin had clearance."

And someone that he wouldn't have to worry about overhearing anything classified if Daniel had a nightmare, Gibbs thought to himself. He watched Daniel get up and turn towards the window, he could almost see the man pulling into himself. He got to his feet and went to stand behind Daniel, close enough for Daniel to feel the heat from his body but nothing inappropriate that the security cameras would capture. Daniel asked quietly, acknowledging the elephant in the room, "Is this... thing between us going to be a problem for you?"

"No. You?"

"No. I just wish I had met you under better circumstances," Daniel said as he slowly turned around to stand face to face with Gibbs with a tired little smile trying to make an appearance. They were so close that had either of them taken a deep breath in, they would have been touching.

Gibbs voice was gentle, "Yeah. So, ah, does your team know about... " He gestured vaguely between them, not wanting to come right out and say the words.

"I think they suspect, but working for the military nobody asks, and I'm certainly not telling."

"Same here."

"So what next?"

"I'm going to find Captain Ward's murderer, and eliminate the threat to your life. Then I don't know. Any thoughts?"

Daniel studied Gibbs' eyes, it was like looking at his own eyes reflected back at him, with all the old hurts and pain bottled up behind them. And he realized that this attraction pulling him towards Gibbs was more than just sexual interest, it was the whole man. And as it did so often, his heart spoke before his brain could filter it, and he said, "I want to know you. Really know you, all of you, good and bad. And I want you to know me, without the cover story and lies. And if you want that too, I'll find a way to make it happen, Jethro." He dropped his eyes for a moment and continued before Gibbs could say anything, "I want more than just the physical, I need it, and I think I deserve it. But I'll understand if that's not what you want."

"You do deserve it. And maybe... maybe I do too, I don't know. But I do know that I want want to know you, too, Daniel. And if you can get clearance to tell me all of it, I'd like that. I have to warn you though, I have three ex-wives that'll tell you I'm lousy at sharing and talking about things."

Daniel grinned playfully, "Guess we won't know until we try, right?"

"Nope." was Gibbs' simple reply, but he drew the word out and made a little popping sound at the end. 

Daniel couldn't help but laugh, he intuitively knew that very few people ever saw Gibbs like this, but his ribs screamed in protest to his laughing and he groaned, "Oh, don't make me laugh, ribs."

Gibbs' cell phone rang and as he fished it off his belt he said, "Sorry, forgot," to Daniel then answered the call in his usual gruff manner, "Gibbs." "What have you got, DiNozzo?"

Daniel could see Gibbs expression grow very grave as he listed to Tony on the other end, and he ended the call with, "Yeah. I'll see you in an hour."

Gibbs closed the phone and took a breath. Daniel's expression was concerned as he asked, "What is it, Jethro? What did they find?"

"They searched his ex-girlfriend's apartment. They found evidence that she was most likely Captain Ward's killer. But she was gone."

"What did they find?" He didn't like how Jethro was skirting around the subject.

Gibbs sighed, he wanted to spare Daniel the details, but Daniel wasn't having it, "They found blood soaked clothing that tested positive for human blood. And..."

"And what?"

"She had a shrine in her bedroom, actually the way DiNozzo tells it, her whole bedroom was shrine to Captain Ward. There were hundreds of pictures on the walls, including dozens and dozens of copies of the one that was in Captain Ward's living room of the two of you."

"And?"

"Are you always like this?" Gibbs asked, trying to deflect the question.

"Yep. What else, Jethro? You're not telling me something."

Gibbs locked his eyes to Daniels, "All of the images of you were mutilated. Some were cut up, some covered in animal blood, and some even looked liked she just scratched them to pieces with her fingernails."

"She's insane."

"Yeah. It gets better though. Apparently she followed us yesterday and she had pictures of us eating at the deli on her digital camera. She was very close to us. Too close."

What Gibbs didn't tell Daniel was that they still hadn't recovered Captain Ward's heart. It was not at her apartment. But she had a roll of brown shipping paper, packing tape, and a sticky note with Daniel's home address on her kitchen table. Tony suspected that she either mailed or shipped the heart somehow to Daniel's home in Colorado. He knew he would have to tell Daniel eventually but he wanted to be sure first.

"So what now?"

"My team's on the way back with the evidence from the apartment. We'll get that processed and see if we can figure out her next move. There may be information on her computer that McGee and Abby can dig out."

"She's obviously mentally disturbed, do you really think she's going to behave predictably?"

"I don't know, but it's what we have to go on right now."

They were still standing there close enough to touch when there was a light knock on the door and it swung open to reveal the Director and a silver haired man with a military bearing that could only be one person.

"Jack," was Daniel's simple response.

---------------  
tbc... 


	6. Chapter 6

"Daniel," Jack returned. Their quick entry into the room had not given Daniel and Gibbs the opportunity to put a little distance between themselves and Jack took in the scene with more than an iota of curiosity. Daniel was obviously very okay with whoever this guy was, being in his personal space. He also noted how the guy tensed up when Daniel said Jack's name, and when he stepped back away from Daniel how he threw Jack a look that carried a distinct warning warning of bodily harm if he felt that Jack was a threat to Daniel. There was a possessiveness about the man's body language that Jack found amusing, and he chalked him up as the latest member of the Daniel Jackson fan club.

Daniel had also noticed Gibbs reaction, and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. On the one hand it was a nice feeling that someone wanted to put a "mine" stamp on him, on the other hand though, he was a grown man capable of taking care of himself. Without thinking he reached up and gave Gibbs' bicep a squeeze to let him know everything really was okay, then stepped over to Jack.

Jack certainly caught that particular action and filed it away. He knew Daniel was lonely, and had been for a very long time. He also was aware that Daniel was someone that wasn't concerned with the packaging of a person's spirit. If he were attracted to someone, their gender just didn't matter to Daniel. And he knew how hard it had to be for Daniel to work in a military facility with that sort of mentality. He just hoped this guy was worthy of Daniel, because Jack knew that Daniel was all or nothing when he cared about someone, it was never just casual with him. And he also knew that no one was more deserving of finding someone than Daniel, he had more than earned it.

"You managed to get here fast." Daniel threw out to Jack.

"Well, finding out that you have some psycho threatening to kill you was a little bit of an incentive."

"I'm fine, Jack."

"I can see that." Jack replied with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Jack." Daniel said with more than a little irritation.

Jen decided to try and lighten the mood a bit, keeping a tight lid on her own humor. She had seen that flash of possessiveness in Gibbs' eyes as they walked in the room. "Colonel O'Neill, this is Special Agent Gibbs."

Jen knew that she had put the two men into a position where they were expected to play nice and shake hands, and they did just that. She had briefed Jack on the situation before they got to the conference room, so he was up to speed.

Jack was direct and to the point as he addressed Gibbs, "I've got a plane waiting to take us back to Colorado, can you arrange safe transportation to get us there?"

Before Gibbs could say anything Daniel spoke up, "I'm not going anywhere, Jack. Not until this is settled."

Jack sighed, knowing he was gearing up for an argument with Daniel that he wasn't going to win, not when Daniel had that determined look on his face like he did right now. "Daniel, you have a crazy woman that wants to kill you here, back in the Springs, you know we can keep you safe."

"Yeah, and locked under the mountain. But besides that, I'm not going anywhere until Martin's killer is caught." The "it's my fault he's dead" didn't come from Daniel's mouth but Jack knew it was there bubbling under the surface. When Jack didn't say anything right away Daniel continued, "Gibbs and his team won't let anything happen to me."

Jen caught the subtle look of challenge that flashed between Jack and Gibbs. Jack wanting Gibbs to make Daniel see the sense of getting on that plane, Gibbs not quite ready to send Daniel away with someone that Daniel had run away from in the first place.

Before Gibbs could formulate a response though, his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and stepped over to the window, "Gibbs." He listened for a moment and replied, "I'm on my way down, get the car."

He snapped the phone and turned towards the others, "We've found her."

Ignoring everyone else in the room, Gibbs' eyes fixed on Daniel, "Stay here."

It was a request disguised as an order, and Daniel saw that in Gibbs' eyes and nodded.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Jen walked out with Gibbs, wanting an update before he vanished, leaving Jack and Daniel alone in the conference room.

Jack sighed wearily and scrubbed his face with both hands then turned to Daniel, "Are you alright?"

It was Daniel's turn to sigh, "Yeah. You?" Daniel knew that Jack's torso had bruises that matched his own, and though he didn't have Daniel's cracked ribs, he had a severely bruised kidney that just as joyful.

"About as well as you." Jack started wandering around the room, and poked his nose in the empty carafe on the side board, "There someplace to get some coffee around here?"

Daniel looked a little confused and admitted, "Uh, I don't know. Jethro... " he cut himself off before he could finish.

Jack's eyebrow shot up in amusement, "So it's Jethro, is it?. Gotcha, so you're on a first name basis with Agent Gibbs? Sweet. And Jethro relates to coffee how exactly?"

Daniel could see Jack enjoying this, entirely too much. And he could swear that he saw a flicker of awareness about the attraction between Daniel and Jethro, but it wasn't like Jack to not push an issue like that and Daniel figured that maybe he just imaged the awareness, or had hoped for it. "It's just, uh, well, he's been bringing the coffee, he likes the place down the street. But maybe Masterson, the agent at the door might know."

Jack gestured with a pointed finger, "Excellent idea." He opened the door and the polished young man outside it turned quickly hearing his name from Jack, "Masterson."

The Director had given him instructions that the Colonel and Doctor Jackson were to be treated with the highest respect and any requests were to be handed expediently, "Yes, Colonel."

"Is there any coffee to be had in this office?"

Masterson almost sighed in relief, coffee he could handle, he had been half afraid that they were going to try to leave, and Gibbs had barked at him on the way out that they were to stay put, "Certainly, Colonel. I can have some brought up for you."

Jack clapped him on the shoulder, "Excellent. Now if you tell me there's a donut or two kicking around too, I'd just be ecstatic. I skipped breakfast."

Deciding he could probably earn some points with the Colonel, Masterson offered, "If you like, sir, we can order in something from the deli down the block."

Jack was thoroughly pleased with that idea and in short order he closed the door on Masterson who already had his phone out, ordering sandwiches.

Daniel was back to staring out the window with his hands deep in his pockets. His mind was whirling, and had been since Jethro announced that they found her. He wanted this whole nightmare to be over.

He felt Jack behind him, in his space the same as Jethro had done, but yet not the same. Still, it was comforting and familiar and grounded Daniel a little. His voice was tired as he said, "I can't believe Martin's dead, Jack. It was like something out of a horror movie."

As Daniel knew it would, Jack's hand came to rest on his shoulder, "I know. He was a good man, and I know he was your friend, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, he was."

There was something in Daniel's voice, whether it was the tone itself or the little catch when he spoke the word "was", something let Jack know that there had been more to their relationship than friendship. At least on Daniel's part. And he wondered if now was going to be the time they finally had "the talk". The one that if Daniel were military Jack would never even have contemplated. But Daniel wasn't military, and he was Jack's friend. And that wouldn't change no matter what the gender was of someone Daniel wanted to become romantically involved with.

And Jack was surprised when Daniel himself opened the door to the conversation, "How hard is it really, to get clearance for someone to know about the program?"

Jack step over to stand next to Daniel at the window, and staring out along side Daniel with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, he replied, "You know the answer to that as well as I do."

"Yeah, I guess I do. I just... "

"I know." He heard Daniel sigh and decided to throw out the bait and see if Daniel took it, because if he didn't, they were never going have "the talk", so he continued, "But I'm betting that Gibbs' clearance is already up there. And given his particular position I'm sure we could convince the higher ups that it would be beneficial to have him in the loop. I could push for it if you want me to."

Daniel's head whipped around to face Jack, and Jack didn't hesitate to meet Daniel's eyes. His expression was confused and floundering, wondering what exactly he had said or did to give it away. "Jack..."

"Daniel. Look I'm just going to say this once, and then you and I are going to forget we ever had this conversation. That whole "don't ask, don't tell" thing? Just add on "don't care" to the end of it and that's how I feel. You're my friend, Daniel, and I just want you to be happy, no judgments."

Daniel scrutinized Jack's face, looking for some sign that only he could interpret, something to tell him that Jack wasn't fooling around, wasn't winding him up to be the punchline of a joke. And when Jack's expression softened and Jack added gently, "I know you've been lonely for a really long time, Danny, and if this guy, this Jethro, can fix that, then I'll find a way to make it happen for you, you just need to tell me," Daniel knew he was serious. Not knowing how to respond, Daniel choose to simply nod.

Jack gave him a tired grin, and then they heard a respectful knock on the door and Jack teased, "Oh please let that be coffee." and clapped Daniel lightly on the shoulder and gave a little squeeze. And it was that little tactile demonstration even more than anything that Jack had said that let Daniel know that Jack really was okay with things.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
tbc...


End file.
